Are You There is a humorous, authentic, and unexpectedly tender play set within the bustling, sometimes chaotic office space of an aged care facility. The story follows three women whose lives intersect in ways that are both ordinary and profound. At its centre is Pia, played with grit and vulnerability by Melanie Madrigali. Pia is an overworked, under-supported single mother, stretched thin between the needs of her family and the fragile older adults she protects with fierce devotion. Madrigali balances sharp humour with emotional honesty, showing Piaâs resilience as well as the cracks that form when compassion is stretched too far.
She is joined onstage by two strong performers who bring texture and contrast to the dynamic: Jane Clifton as Colleen, the loud, cheeky, and larger-than-life colleague whose bravado covers her own insecurities, and Rosemary Johns as Lauren, the dementia-affected yet luminous figure whose presence is ethereal and quietly heartbreaking. Johnsâ portrayal avoids caricature, offering a delicate, humane look at how memory loss reshapes identity while still leaving room for flashes of wisdom and spirit.Â
Playwright Irene Korsten has crafted a script that balances humour and poignancy. Rather than falling back on stereotypes, she gives each character dimension and complexity, inviting audiences to see them as fully realised people rather than mere archetypes. The dialogue flows with a natural rhythm, peppered with wry observations and moments of raw honesty that feel instantly recognisable. Rachel Baringâs direction amplifies this authenticity. The staging feels as though the audience has been invited directly into the staffroom of an aged care home, watching real people negotiate frustrations, laughter, and moments of grace. The pacing is nimble, allowing both comedy and contemplation to breathe.
The interplay between the three characters provides a dynamic ebb and flow of energy. Conversations spiral from workroom banter into unexpected meditations on spirituality, mortality, and family. Particularly striking is Madrigaliâs ability to hold the stage even when âacting against no oneâ. Whether speaking into a phone to patientsâ families or to her own child. These moments showcase her precision as a performer and highlight the isolation of carers who are often pulled in many directions at once.
What gives Are You There its staying power is not just its humour or characterisation, but its resonance. The show nudges the audience to consider their own connections to family, community, and the people who quietly sustain both. In its gentle way, it encourages gratitude for those who care, often without thanks, and for the fragile bonds of connection that give life meaning. Walking away, I found myself reflecting on my own relationships and the small yet profound ways we hold each other up.
This is a sweet, sensitive, and deeply human play. One that laughs at the absurdities of life in an aged care office while reminding us that connection is what ultimately keeps us grounded. Are You There is proof that sometimes the most ordinary settings yield the most extraordinary truths.
Hold onto your hats, folks! Today, we had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with the inimitable Tomas Clifford to chat about his latest musical-cabaret extravaganza, “Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up.” Fresh off successful runs in Perth, Tomas is ready to make his mark at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and beyond. Get ready for a unique blend of humour, music, and heartfelt storytelling.
About Tomas Clifford
What do you enjoy most about acting?
I love connecting to a live audience just like you have a gossip session with your friend over a coffee (or wine) – making everyone in the room feel like they’re the only person being told the story is the aim for me, because it’s that personal connection with the performer than I as an audience member love about cabaret and live performance.
What productions have you acted in before?
Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up has already had two festival runs in Perth, and we’re very excited to announce that this upcoming Melbourne Fringe Season marks the beginning of a national tour of the show (with more dates to be announced for 2026).
Do you want to work in film, live theatre or both?
As a composer, I would love to work on projects across all different media formats – movies, tv, you name it. My heart, however, will always lie in theatre/live entertainment composition, be in the form of a musical or an original cabaret. As a performer, I’m super open to opportunities that may come my way. I’ve never fully imagined myself as a screen actor, but I certainly wouldn’t say “no” – and stranger things have happened.
What strategies do you use to overcome stage fright or nerves before a performance?
I honestly believe that the best strategy to overcome nerves are 1) extreme preparation building up to the performance and having the fullest of confidence that you know what you’re doing; and 2) being ready to throw all that preparation away and respond to what you’re being given by the audience in the moment. It’s that balance of type-a organisation and type-b carelessness that make me more excited than nervous for a performance.
How do you maintain your physical and emotional health while working on demanding projects?
The three s’s: sleep, steam, and silence.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
My original musical-cabaret Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up will be playing in Melbourne from the 1/10 – 5/10 as a part of this years Melbourne Fringe Festival!
Where can patrons purchase tickets to this production?
Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences with us. Best of luck with Tomas Clifford Got Stood Up at the Melbourne Fringe Festival and beyond. Weâre certain audiences everywhere are in for a treat!
The concept is simple but striking: the women, now deceased, are deeply unimpressed that the Brothers Grimm got all the credit. Theyâre trying to uncover any mention of themselves in the modern world. What follows is a meta-theatrical, heartfelt, and hilarious retelling of their legacies, peppered with outrageous storytelling, shadow puppetry, paper crowns, and plenty of fourth-wall-breaking sass.
The cast? Divine. âą Emily Farrell is a scene-stealing delight as the flamboyant and witty Catherine DâAulnoy. âą Janine Kwok brings warmth and cheek to the quietly passionate Marie LâHeritier. âą Olivia Morisonâs performance as Henriette de Murat is grounded and graceful, laced with steely elegance. âą Daisy Valerio is luminous as Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force, commanding both comedy and heartbreak with ease.
The minimalist set by Fiona MacDonald is cleverly functional and the cast shift the pieces around like magical stagehands, transforming spaces with ease and energy. MacDonaldâs costume work also shimmers with imagination, nodding to both period aesthetics and playful theatricality.
The lighting and sound design (by Ashleigh Basham and Justin Heaton) enhance the fantastical atmosphere without overpowering the performances. The shadow puppetry sequences, tales told in flickering silhouette on a screen, are especially enchanting and add a lush visual layer that adds to the whimsy.
But beyond the sparkle, this show lands an emotional punch. Itâs a celebration of the women who used stories as a means of survival and resistance when they had no other power. It asks: Is it better to be remembered by name, or by the impact you made, even if your name is lost?
By the end of the 90-minute journey, youâll not only know their names, but youâll want to write them in glitter across the sky.
An irreverent, intelligent, and emotionally rich love letter to the women who birthed fairy tales. Funny, fierce, and just the right amount of feminist rage wrapped in a velvet ribbon. Go see it. And bring a friend who still thinks the Grimms were first.
Set in a mythical âonce upon a timeâ sort of land, this is the story of a hulking green ogre who, after being mocked and feared his entire life by anything that crosses his path, retreats to an ugly green swamp to exist in happy isolation. Suddenly, a gang of homeless fairy-tale characters (Pinocchio, Cinderella, the Three Pigs, you name it) raid his sanctuary, saying theyâve been evicted by the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad. So Shrek strikes a deal: Iâll get your homes back, if you give me my home back! But when Shrek and Farquaad meet, the Lord strikes a deal of his own: Heâll give the fairy-tale characters their homes back, if Shrek rescues Princess Fiona. Shrek obliges, yet finds something appealingâsomething strange and differentâabout this pretty princess. He likes her a lot, but why does she always run off when the sun sets?
We arrive in the Alexander Theatre foyer to see a swamp hut setting the feel of Shrek’s humble abode, a queue in the merch line entices us to buy some support cookies in theme and a spotlighted âgreenâ carpet for pics with our program.
This show is no ordinary version; an âinclusicalâ by the one and only Stars and The Moon theatre company for all abilities known as âSTaMâ in Melbourne – with care they pair up kind âcastmatesâ and those having a special need to give them more confidence to perform; though you envisage it might, it does not detract from the showâs appeal or amazingness having two people play the one character. In fact, it definitely adds to the fun!! The sets, costuming and lighting are also nothing short of professional and the packed audience agrees with constant cheering. If you’ve read enough, you actually only have a slim chance to currently secure tickets as most shows are sold out!
We sit down in our âgreenâ tonight to hear firstly a comical introduction over the mic saying no gingerbread men have been harmed in making the show haha and that everyone can get up and dance and wiggle in their seats. Then âThe Magic Mirrorâ above us featuring Paralympic gold medalist Dylan Alcott entertains us with his one-liners and opens the show in Clayton where we are about to see a journey of embracing who you are.
We know this is going to be a good night as âBig Bright Beautiful Worldâ hits us very big and very bright! Iâm already a bit emotional at watching the castmates carefully coax some of the performers onto the stage and within seconds they are all quite at home, many excited doing their second or third show with STaM.
Shrek played by Cameron Miller and Zac Parkes is larger than life as always and they have him down true to the Shrek we all know from the movie, even his speaking voice is almost identical.
Princess Fiona played by Chelsea Dawson and Lottie Coombes is just gorgeous, they both smash every song with their vocal ability and certainly a duet to long remember.
Two of my faves were Asher Stanton and Jordan French playing âPinocchioâ and Eitan Meyerowitz and Zac Chester playing Big Bad Wolf, but really, ALL of the fairytale characters are FANTASTIC to watch and they do lots of funny quirky things on the side.
My eldest daughter, an avid musical theatre lover and regular performer in shows herself, came with me to this show and she was saying all the way through âheâs goodâ âsheâs goodâ âtheyâre goodâ in every scene. She was super impressed by the âDragonâ singers but particularly loves to watch the ensemble, so never think you arenât noticed if thatâs you, because you surely are. e.g. the dancing mice feet behind the curtain (how cuuute), the girls with the âAwwwâ âGaspâ âLaughâ signs (instructions for us viewers), everyone under that enormous red creature (you made us love watching her every move), and the Humpties who picked up the bricks to carry them all off without dropping them – well done!!!
Shout out to Gabe Harari and Evan Lever for their kneeling, knee walking âLord Farquaadâ – both were absolutely hilarious!! Equally hilarious were Guillaume Gentil & Daniel Geng as âDonkeyâ – I donât think I have laughed so much from one character in any show Iâve ever enjoyed.
Dance timing in straight lines you might not expect to be exact in a show with limited abilities for some of the performers, but they were fabulous and every smile at each other and movement showed how much they loved being up there together. So many beautiful costumes too brought the whole live energetic picture together. We were so close to the stage as well we could feel the excited enthusiasm and nothing could beat the flag waving by all – even all of us in the audience got that green flag stuck on our seat and flipped it around like crazy!
All in all, a swamp load of serious talent in this show – you all deserved that full standing ovation and Iâm sure there were plenty of proud tears from family and friends too, CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!
Lauren McKenna – Director Michaela Raitman – Producer Campbell Borello – Production Manager SHREK – Cameron Miller & Zac Parkes PRINCESS FIONA – Chelsea Dawson & Lottie Coomes (Covers – Jessica Mond, Lizzie Locke) DONKEY – Guillaume Gentil & Daniel Geng LORD FARQUAAD – Gabe Harari & Evan Lever DRAGON – Dylan Don Paul (Dilonce) & Thanh-Tuok Autran
FAIRYTALE ENSEMBLE – Asher Stanton & Jordan French (Pinocchio), Ruth Ben-Danan & Alanna Baschera (Sugarplum Fairy/Gingy), Eitan Meyerowitz & Zac Chester (Big Bad Wolf), Teige Cordiner, Aidyn Patrzalek & Devin Goralsky (three Pigs), Mark J Rintoull, Zoe Better, Mia Decleva (The Bears), Ebony May & Katie McMillan (Fairy Godmother), Georgia Ellen & Danni Miller (Wicked Witch), Sarahbell Turvey & Tahli McLean (Duckling/Teen Fiona), Sayer Delves & Caomhe McCooey (White Rabbit/Baby Fiona), Alexander Gilbert & Jack Taylor (Peter Pan/Pied Piper), Jaimie Chapman & Tamara Stanton (Goldilocks), Jackson Harris & Mark Polonsky (Mad Hatter), Natasha Freiberg & Ellie Goldenberg (Humpty), Dani Filip & Shira Etzion (Hansel & Gretel), Jessica Mond & Jemima Scerri (Little Red)
GUARDS & DRAGON ENSEMBLE – Benji Kalkopf, Harry Stott, Brendan Saffer, Gilbert Esse, Tarus Fiu, Chris Patrzalek, Daniel Kraus, Sue Lesnjak, Lilly Lawrence, Lyndall Peachman, Jakob Demirel, Dan Don, Sienna Boorer, Savannah Mandile, Hayley Walsh, Raechelle Sibbing.
To find out more how you or someone you know with special needs and perhaps limited abilities can be involved with this very special theatre group see https://www.starsandthemoon.org/
Duration: Approx. 2 hours and 30 minutes including a 20 minute intermission. The show is easy access for all including assisted hearing, seeing-eye-dog friendly and wheelchairs of all sizes welcome. Wheelchairs on stage too with the performers loving every minute acting it up in this inclusical!
Venue: Alexander Theatre, Monash University Clayton Campus, 48 Exhibition Walk, Clayton. Free parking is available on site (more info). Please allow adequate time when planning your visit to find parking and the venue. Sometimes it is a 10minute walk from the car into the theatre.
